Benches are well known and are common fixtures in public parks, shopping malls, backyards and gardens. Countless styles and designs of benches have been developed for different applications. They serve both utilitarian purposes, such as providing a convenient and comfortable place to sit, as well as aesthetic purposes, such as decorating a park or garden. Some benches serve as memorials or commemorations to certain people or events. While many of these prior art benches are functional or aesthetically pleasing, many of these benches suffer from various problems or are undesirable for various other reasons.
As one example, many benches are unnecessarily complex, difficult and intimidating to assemble. They require the assembly of a great number of parts, require special tools, require precision cutting of parts, or other special or sophisticated processes or steps. What's worse is that if any of these parts are assembled improperly, or steps performed inadequately, the result may be a bench that cannot perform its intended task. That is, the bench may be unable to support the weight of one or more persons, thereby creating a dangerous condition.
As another example, many benches, while designed to be attractive, they suffer from design flaws such that when the bench is assembled and exposed to the elements the bench is particularly susceptible to deterioration. This deterioration detracts from the utility of the bench as the deterioration causes an unsafe condition as the elements break down the materials of the bench. In addition, this deterioration detracts from the aesthetic appearance of the bench as rust, fading, fungus growth or other discoloration or aging gives the bench an undesirable appearance. In addition, many potential users of the bench are likely to refrain from sitting on a bench that suffers from rust, fungus growth or other forms of deterioration. These design flaws may be in the choice of materials that the benches are formed of, such as using materials that quickly rust, fade, weaken or decay when exposed to the elements. Or, the design flaws may be the structural design of the bench that diminish the strength of the bench or materials that form the bench. An example of such a design flaw may be passing a fastener through the planks of the bench at or near their ends which directly expose the fastener to the elements causing premature deterioration, and may cause premature tear-out of the fastener because of its positioning at or near the end of the planks.
Another flaw in many bench designs is that they require passing a fastener perpendicularly through the exposed surface of the planks that form the seat portion and/or through the back portion of the bench. By passing a fastener through the exposed surface of the planks in this manner forms a passageway through the surface of the planks that are most exposed to the elements. This passageway encourages water to drain into the passageway where it is absorbed by the material of the planks. This moisture then promotes rotting and which substantially reduces the effective lifespan of the bench. Another drawback to this arrangement is that by passing a fastener through the exposed surfaces of the planks causes the heads of fasteners to protrude through the seat portion or back portion of the bench which limits the usefulness of the bench as it is uncomfortable to sit or lean upon the protruding heads of the fasteners. Furthermore, it is unattractive to have fasteners protrude through the visible surfaces of the seat portion and the back portion.
In addition, prior art benches have limited utility because they suffer from an inability to carry a message, to be personalized or to themed after a sports team or other cause or event.
Therefore, in view of the deficiencies in the prior art, there is a need in the art to provide an improved bench that addresses these issues.
Thus, it is a primary object of the invention to provide a bench that improves upon the state of the art.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bench that is easy to assemble.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a bench that is safe to use.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bench that is durable over time.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a bench that resists decay and deterioration from the elements over time.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bench that resists fading.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a bench that is fun to assemble.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bench that is simple and not intimidating to assemble.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a bench that uses standard parts and pieces.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bench that is appealing for do-it-yourselfers.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a bench that can be themed after a sports team or other thing, cause or event.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bench that is inexpensive to manufacture.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a bench that has an intuitive design.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bench that can be personalized.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a bench that has a long useful life.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bench that is a fun project to assemble.
These and other objects, features, or advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the specification and claims.